GGGF to discuss 'Industry 4.0 for Korea'

Following is the full-text of a welcoming speech Kwak Young-kil, CEO of The Aju News Corporation, delivered during the opening ceremony of the sixth Global Green Growth Forum (GGGF) at Plaza Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday. The forum will continue until Friday.

I would like to thank you for attending the sixth Global Green Growth Forum (GGGF) and welcome you all to this forum.

The whole world is mired in a low growth trap. Although the advanced economies, such as the United States, are showing signs of recovery, China and other developing economies have remained sluggish. There is still a long way to go before the global economy will achieve a recovery.

The manufacturing industry has attained a rapid growth. It underwent the first industrial revolution which brought about mass production to replace manual work thanks to the creation of steam engine. The second industrial revolution enabled people to use conveyer belts and electricity. The third industrial revolution introduced factory automation through the development of electronic technology and information technology (IT).

However, the manufacturing industry, in the 21st Century, is facing a number of problems, such as the growing elderly population caused by low birthrate, a lack of young skilled workers, the ever-shortening product life cycle, mass customization and market pressure to reduce costs.

To resolve these problems, Germany, the United States, Japan and China are conducting researches and investing in building the “smart factory.”

Germans call it “Industry 4.0,” or the fourth industrial revolution. Industry 4.0 should be interpreted as a term that refers to a transition the manufacturing industry is undergoing, not as a term referring to certain technology. Industry 4.0 could be achieved only when there are a change of thinking among all people concerned and consensus on changes, as well as convergence of individual industries. Industry 4.0 will serve as a compass for the fourth industrial revolution.

Industry 4.0 is in line with President Park Geun-hye’s “creative economy.” Korea should create a growth engine by benchmarking German’s Industry 4.0 project, as the manufacturing industry is a mainstay industry of Korea. The Aju News Corporation chose “Industry 4.0 for Korea” as the theme of this year’s GGGF.

All Korean people in the government and civilian and academic circles have joined forces to make the creative economy a success since last year, and there have been tangible results this year. The Creative Economy Renovation Center was recently established in Daegu and German SAP participating in the GGGF set up a design thinking center in Pangyo near Seoul. The government set aside 8.3 trillion won for the creative economy in its budget request for fiscal 2015, up 17.1 percent from this year. More fruitful outcome is expected to come out next year.

This year marks the 12th anniversary of the founding of The Aju News Corporation and the seventh anniversary of the establishment of The Aju Business Daily, a global news outlet which provides news services in four languages – Korean, Chinese, English and Japanese. This forum will serve as an important occasion to help Korea find a solution amid lingering global economic uncertainties.

I would like to express thanks again to guests for participating in this forum.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

GGGF to discuss 'Industry 4.0 for Korea'

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